Those Kansas City Royals surprised us again. But let's make this the last time.

Yes, the Royals won a game they probably should have lost on Thursday night, shocking the top-seeded Angels, 3-2, in 11 innings in the American League Division Series opener. They used eight pitchers, made four gravity-defying catches in the outfield and wound up with the same number of hits, the last of which was Mike Moustakas' leadoff homer in the 11th inning.

To recap, quickly, the Royals got on the board with a run in the top of the third, manufactured on a Moustakas walk and a double by Alcides Escobar. But the Angels tied it in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run.

In the fifth, the Royals went ahead again, manufacturing one run on an Alex Gordon double and a couple sacrifice flies to move. Gordon over to third and home. But the Angels tied it in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run.

The Royals hit the fewest homers in the majors this year. If only the Royals could hit home runs like that, they’d be golden, I muttered after the Angels’ second bomb.

There is the little team that could from middle America. There’s the juggernaut from the nation’s capital. There are the two clubs from big-market L.A., and there’s the team with the three Cy Young winners atop its rotation. The Orioles? They have been something of a forgotten team at the start of this postseason, but with one big opening statement in Baltimore, the AL East champs flexed their muscles and showed why they have what it takes for a run deep into October -- even if no one seems to be taking them seriously as World Series contenders.

Still, there’s this for the Royals: Since July 22, they own a 43-23 record. That’s the best in the Major Leagues.